The Lord Just Wants to Have Fun

“This is the Viscounty of Mirabeau from here on.”

The Viscounty of Mirabeau was located right next to them. Since it was a necessary passage on the way to the royal capital, Philip and his party remained vigilant.

They couldn’t be sure what Armand might do out of resentment after losing the territorial war.

However, even after encountering the Mirabeau territory guards patrolling the highway, nothing particularly happened. Instead, they managed to gather some information from them.

“Viscount Armand left yesterday to attend His Majesty the King’s funeral.”

“It seems he departed as soon as he received the news, trying to stay in the royal family’s good graces.”

Thanks to this, Philip’s party was able to pass through the Viscounty of Mirabeau without issue.

To avoid camping out in the open, they stuck to the highway as much as possible. However, as they were passing through the next territory, the sun began to set.

In response, Philip decided to seek out a lord’s manor nearby to stay for the night.

It seemed the soldiers guarding the castle gates had already reported their arrival, as a young lord in his mid-twenties came out to greet them and invited them to the lord’s residence.

“Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it. We’re all acquainted, after all. Were you on your way to the royal capital?”

“Yes. Has Baron Horn already departed for the capital? If not, we could travel together.”

“Unfortunately, my father left ahead of me. Feel free to rest as if this were your own home.”

The young lord was someone Philip had come to know after frequently visiting a hot spring village to treat injuries sustained during monster subjugations.

Thanks to his warm hospitality, Philip’s party was able to relieve their exhaustion.

On the following nights, they also found accommodation at the manors of noble acquaintances or lords they had connections with.

“Thanks to you, my lord, this journey has been much easier.”

“Haha, indeed. Being well-connected has its perks.”

“Pardon? What do you mean by ‘well-connected’?”

“Well, it’s sort of… a way of saying someone is popular and well-liked.”

“Oh! That is exactly my goal!”

The one engaging in conversation with Philip was Andy, a bright and cheerful young man.

Among the young knights of the territory, he was the second strongest after Terry, but since he was usually assigned to patrol duties, he rarely had the chance to speak with Philip.

According to Carpenter, who had chosen him as a bodyguard, he was also highly skilled in archery.

“My great-grandfather’s grandfather came from a land called Mukri in the distant eastern continent. The people there are known for their excellent horsemanship and archery.”

“Wait, so you’re not an Elf?”

“Pardon? Where did that come from?”

“I just heard that Elves are supposed to be good with bows.”

“Haha! You must have been misinformed. Elves were so bad at archery that they had to invent the crossbow instead.”

Hearing this shattered Philip’s common sense, leaving him dumbfounded.

‘So… the Elves in this world have just been living off financial schemes instead of being legendary archers?’

The elegant, masterful archers he had seen in movies and games back in Korea didn’t seem to exist in this world.

While Philip secretly clicked his tongue at this realization, Andy continued to chatter away.

“By the way, where are we staying tonight? Hopefully, it’ll be at a mansion with soft beds and delicious food.”

“Don’t count on it this time.”

Terry, who had been silently riding his horse, retorted sharply.

“Why not?”

“Because tonight, we’re passing through the County of Palamos.”

The County of Palamos.

It was Auguste’s territory—the man who had previously proposed a marriage alliance with Philip.

That incident had soured the relationship between their families considerably.

In short, Philip would be an unwelcome guest.

“Darling, isn’t Palamos the place where the lord’s castle burned down recently?”

Siria asked Terry, as if suddenly remembering something.

“That’s right.”

“I heard a rumor that it was Eldir’s divine punishment… The people there probably aren’t too happy with us.”

“Most likely not.”

‘Hah. They got greedy trying to steal someone else’s technology and ended up causing a disaster. Who do they have to blame but themselves?’

Philip scoffed.

Regardless, the situation wasn’t ideal, so they decided to take a detour around the County of Palamos.

‘Getting into trouble and being late for the king’s funeral would be more of a hassle…’

Leaving the main road, Philip’s party took a narrow mountain path to shorten their route.

The terrain was quite rough, and as they climbed over the mountain, the sun began to set.

“Looks like we’ll have to camp out here for the night.”

Although there was still some daylight left, it was better to find a suitable campsite in advance.

Following Philip’s decision, the party cleared the ground, pitched tents, and gathered firewood to cook dinner.

After finishing their meal, Terry, as usual, began his sword training.

To reach the rank of Expert-High, one had to train in swordsmanship daily without fail.

As Terry continued his training, Philip, showing interest, stepped in for a sparring match.

“Haap! Hup!”

“Your footwork needs to be faster.”

With makeshift wooden swords carved from tree branches, Philip and Terry exchanged blows.

As someone who was already on the cusp of reaching Expert-High, Terry effortlessly blocked Philip’s attacks without even using aura, countering him with precision.

“You’re dead again, my lord.”

“Che! As expected, I still can’t match you.”

When Terry’s wooden sword lightly tapped Philip’s neck, Philip grimaced.

Back in Korea, he had been a military enthusiast, frequently watching Western and Eastern swordsmanship videos on Y-Tube.

However, it was obvious that swordsmanship learned by eye would never be effective in real combat.

At this rate, he wouldn’t stand a chance against a knight, let alone an ordinary soldier.

“Then… how about this!”

Tossing aside the wooden sword, Philip strode over to the wagon and retrieved his musket rifle.

“You’re not planning to shoot me, are you?”

“Of course not. I’m going to use bayonet combat.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Philip charged forward, swinging the rifle.

Unlike before, Terry’s reaction changed—this time, he stepped back to evade instead of simply blocking.

‘This is much better.’

Unlike his amateur swordsmanship, Philip’s bayonet combat skills were the real deal—something he had formally trained in the military.

Not only had he mastered bayonet combat to the point of becoming an instructor, but he had also tested his skills in real combat during deployments.

Thrust. Swing. Block. Kick.

Philip’s technique was refined, incorporating adaptive variations of basic movements that made his attacks sharp and unpredictable.

To Terry, it was an effective close-combat style, well-suited for a musket rifle, which combined the properties of a spear and a blunt weapon.

‘Still, it’s far from being a match for my swordsmanship.’

Sidestepping the attack, Terry angled his body, effortlessly deflecting the strike before placing his wooden sword against Philip’s neck once again.

“Hah… I still can’t beat you, Sir Terry.”

“With diligent training, you’ll improve.”

‘Yeah, right. How the hell am I supposed to catch up to an Expert-High when I can’t even use aura?’

As Philip grumbled internally, Terry suddenly asked,

“But why did you suddenly ask for a sparring match?”

“I’ve been stuck in the wagon all day. I needed to stretch my legs.”

Had he been back in his territory, he would have hammered metal in the workshop or sawed wood to pass the time.

But right now, he had no such options. His night vision wasn’t great, so he couldn’t even go hunting in the dark.

“Besides, I need to be prepared for any situation.”

“That’s true. You never know what might happen. Especially in noble society, where duels are common.”

Once in the royal capital, Philip would be meeting various nobles.

There was no guarantee that all of them would be friendly.

Some would look down on him for being an Apostle of the Blacksmith God, while others might be envious of the wealth he had accumulated from his various inventions.

‘There’s always a chance one of those bastards will challenge me to a duel.’

Technically, he could appoint a proxy to fight in his place, but that was usually reserved for old or injured nobles.

A young, able-bodied noble using a substitute would damage his reputation.

“Still, during something as solemn as the King’s funeral, no one would be stupid enough to challenge you to a duel.”

“Heh. In stories, there’s always at least one idiot who does.”

“If you’re that concerned, just improve your skills while you can.”

“Yeah, might as well. It’s not like I have anything better to do right now.”

Just as Philip picked up his rifle again and prepared for another sparring session, a piercing scream rang through the forest.

“KYAAAAAH!”

“Helen?!”

The scream unmistakably belonged to Helen.

Philip turned to his soldiers, and one of them, looking startled, stammered,

“J-just now… she left with Lady Siria to gather herbs…”

Before the soldier could even finish speaking, Philip and the knights were already sprinting toward the direction of Helen’s scream.

“Woof! Woof!”

“Grraaaah! Grrr!”

Near a creek, a group of five Gnolls—beasts with dog-like heads and humanoid bodies—were engaged in battle with Siria.

For a mid-tier Tattooed Warrior like Siria, five Gnolls weren’t an impossible challenge.

Given enough time, she could defeat them without serious injuries.

The problem was Helen.

While Siria was fending off four of the Gnolls, one snuck past her, dashing straight toward Helen.

“RUN, HELEN!”

At Siria’s urgent shout, Helen tried to flee, but she tripped over a tree root and fell.

Seeing this from a distance, Terry urgently called out.

“Andy!”

“I’m already on it!”

Like lightning, Andy nocked an arrow and fired at the Gnoll charging toward Helen.

The arrow struck the Gnoll’s shoulder, making it stagger for a moment, but it didn’t go down.

‘Damn it!’

Just as Terry was about to push himself forward with all his might—

BANG!

“Yelp!”

A thunderous roar echoed, and the Gnoll attacking Helen was sent flying.

“My lord!”

The one who saved Helen was Philip.

Though he had fallen behind the knights while running, he had used the time to reload and had landed a perfect shot to the Gnoll’s head from a long distance.

BANG! BANG!

Reloading quickly, Philip took down two more before Terry and Andy even reached the women.

With the last remaining Gnolls swiftly dispatched, Terry turned to Helen and Siria, his voice scolding.

“I told you not to wander into the forest alone! Monsters and wild beasts roam outside the main road!”

“I’m sorry… I just wanted to find some herbs to help with fatigue recovery…”

“Don’t be too hard on Helen, darling. It was my fault for not being more cautious.”

Unable to scold them further, Terry sighed in relief.

“Well… as long as you’re both safe, that’s what matters.”

On the way back to camp, Terry approached Philip.

“Your marksmanship has improved, my lord.”

“Heh, all thanks to this.”

Philip tapped the 4x scope mounted on his musket.

“With this, I can increase range and accuracy. Plus, even in the dark, the Gnolls’ glowing eyes made them easier to spot.”

“I see why you treasure it… Did Eldir teach you about this as well?”

“Uh, yeah, something like that… Anyway, this means I can participate in duels now.”

Who said duels had to be fought with swords and magic? If needed, he’d just use his gun and argue his way through it.

Once they returned to camp, the party quickly packed up and moved out.

Traveling at night through the mountains was dangerous, but staying where monsters had just appeared was even riskier.

No one wanted to risk another ambush.

As they hurried forward, Andy approached Philip.

“My lord, do you think I could learn to use that gun?”

“Why?”

“Well…”

Up until now, knights had been interested in muskets, but none had seriously trained with them.

They were hard to reload on horseback, and the gunfire could spook horses, leading to falls.

Yet, Andy seemed genuinely intrigued.

‘My lord’s shooting skills were on a completely different level from ordinary gunners!’

His shots had greater power than a bow, and he had hit his target with perfect precision from long range.

Of course, arrows infused with aura could be even more powerful, but charging aura took time and effort.

‘Besides, he fired without hesitation and stayed completely calm… My lord’s marksmanship must be exceptional.’

‘Interesting… Maybe I can train a real sniper besides myself.’

Realizing the potential, Philip readily nodded.

“When we return to the territory, I’ll make you a rifle just like mine.”

“Really?! Thank you!”

Ding! [Andy’s Loyalty has increased from 80 to 90.]

Seeing Andy’s excitement, Philip felt as if a system notification had just popped up in his head.